MLB Power Rankings 2012: Teams Ready to Make Huge Moves in September

Major League Baseball's playoff race is shaping up to be the most memorable we have seen since, well, last year. 

There are no fewer than 15 teams battling over the 10 spots in both leagues combined. The National League division leaders—Washington, Cincinnati and San Francisco—have relatively comfortable leads, but after that you are talking about a lot of competition for a few slots. 

With so much shuffling going on, the power rankings will be constantly fluctuating from series to series. Here are the teams that are poised to make a big climb as they march towards the postseason. 

No. 8 St. Louis Cardinals

I keep harping on this, but there is no reason for the Cardinals to be fighting for a wild-card spot. They have a lineup with more depth and power than anything you will see in the National League. The rotation has the fifth-best ERA in all of baseball (3.73). 

So what has gone wrong? 

Well, the bullpen has an ERA of 4.00, which is 21st in the league. They can't find a battery that works well enough to get Jason Motte the ball with the lead in the ninth inning. 

Plus, the offense has looked tired in recent weeks. Carlos Beltran has fallen off a cliff since July, hitting .206 in the last two months with 48 strikeouts in 194 at-bats. 

Yet I look at that plus-97 run differential, which is second in the National League, and I think this team should be better. The schedule works out incredibly well for them to make a huge run, as they have 18 games left with the Mets, Cubs, Astros, Padres and Brewers. 

No. 9 Tampa Bay Rays

While I am still a little surprised that the Rays haven't taken hold of the wild-card race—thanks to a pesky Baltimore team that has hung around far longer than anyone imagined—it is not a St. Louis-level surprise because they don't score runs. 

Evan Longoria's return had a good effect on the rest of the lineup for about a week, which can easily be attributed to the dreaded small sample size, but they are just 20th in baseball with 554 runs scored. 

Optimism is still high for the Rays because of that pitching staff. How good have the Rays been this year? They are in the top three in ERA (3.26), shutouts (13), strikeouts (1098), batting average against (.234), OPS (.660) and hits allowed (1034). 

They are so good that they could get away with scoring fewer than four runs per game more often than almost any other team in baseball. 

The schedule works in their favor too, as they will be playing 12 games against the two teams ahead of them in the American League East (New York and Baltimore). 

No. 12 Detroit Tigers

It is quite clear that the Tigers were overrated coming into the year. Most people (myself included) got so sucked into the allure of Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander that we didn't pay attention to what else was there. 

After the trio of superstars, there are a few nice pieces, but no real depth. I do have to give praise to Austin Jackson, whose .306/.386/.493 line might not be a fluke since he is walking a lot more and striking out a lot less than he ever has. 

I remain cautiously optimistic, because Max Scherzer continues to be the most beautiful enigma in baseball, and Doug Fister is pitching very well. 

If they can get those two starters behind Verlander to go on any kind of sustained run, they should breeze by the White Sox in the American League Central. 

Their defense is a big, big problem—and a reason I think they haven't yet been able to catch fire—but they have two of the best strikeout pitchers in baseball at the top of the rotation. 

Another reason to love the Tigers is their last 13 days of the season. From September 22 to October 3, they are playing the Twins and Royals. 

The White Sox do get six games with Cleveland, but they also have seven with the Rays and Angels. 

This division is Detroit's to lose. 

2012 MLB POWER RANKINGS FOR WEEK OF SEP. 3
1. Washington Nationals
2. Texas Rangers
3. New York Yankees
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. San Francisco Giants
6. Oakland A's
7. Atlanta Braves
8. St. Louis Cardinals
9. Tampa Bay Rays
10. Chicago White Sox
11. Los Angeles Angels
12. Detroit Tigers
13. Pittsburgh Pirates
14. Baltimore Orioles
15. Los Angeles Dodgers
16. Arizona Diamondbacks
17. Seattle Mariners
18. Milwaukee Brewers
19. Philadelphia Phillies
20. Boston Red Sox
21. San Diego Padres
22. Toronto Blue Jays
23. New York Mets
24. Kansas City Royals
25. Minnesota Twins
26. Miami Marlins
27. Colorado Rockies
28. Cleveland Indians
29. Chicago Cubs
30. Houston Astros

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